Nit picky, possibly nothing-burger programming question. I’m about halfway through Phase 1 of Hypertrophy I after having been burnt out by SS NLP. Feeling well-recovered and strong, previous joint issues have resolved. My intention is to go back to a strength-focused program after completing Hypertrophy I. To that end, I’m still doing my basic strength movements (low-bar squat, bench, conv. deadlift) as my main lifts within Hypertrophy I. I don’t want to get out of practice. However, Jordan mentioned to me that not varying exercises sufficiently may have downsides, such as increased injury risk (sorry if I’m misremembering). Minimizing fatigue and injury risk is important to me. Should I consider varying from my standard strength movements during Phase II? Is this simply not that big a deal? Thanks.
For non-barbell sport athletes, e.g. Olympic weightlfiters and powerlifters, I feel more strongly about a higher level of variation. In this case, that might be swapping the LBBS for a HBBS or SSB squat, the flat bench for a low incline bench press, and conventional deadlift for stiff legged deadlifts, trap bar DL, or sumo.
Starting Strength has done an impressive job convincing people that specific movement styles, e.g. LBBS, conventional DL, etc., lead to better results in strength and muscle mass, despite no evidence of this being true.
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Very informative, as usual. I’ll take this into consideration as I enter Phase II in a few weeks.